New Collection in the Archives: Geoffrey C. Hazard’s ALI Papers

May 19, 2009

Many of you in the Penn Law community might have taken a class from Professor Geoffrey C. Hazard on civil procedure. Still others might know Professor Hazard as one of the foremost experts on legal ethics in the United States.

However, Professor Hazard was also Director of the American Law Institute from the mid-1980s through the 1990s. During his tenure, the Institute participated in a number of notable projects, including restatements of the law of property, foreign relations law, and the law governing lawyers; revisions and enhancements to the Uniform Commercial Code; and the Transnational Civil Procedure project, a joint initative with UNIDROIT.

I have spent the better part of this year organizing Professor Hazard’s files in the American Law Institute Archives and am now opening them to the wider research community. Professor Hazard’s papers constitute one of the largest collections in the Archives. He created and collected prodigiously: the collection comprises 47 linear feet of correspondence, drafts, reports, and other papers on a variety of projects. Notably, the Geoffrey C. Hazard Director’s Files include Professor Hazard’s work on behalf of the American Law Institute to write rules and procedures which governed lawyers in the ethical practice of the law.

If you are interested in learning more about Geoffrey Hazard’s ALI-related work, I encourage you to browse our online finding aid or contact the Archives. You can also learn more about the American Law Institute Archives by visiting the department’s home page.